Clow Mammoth Anti-Trauma Safety Harness

The Clow Mammoth Anti-Trauma Safety Harness is Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) against falls from height and has been designed for use in combination with work safety rescue systems.

Certified to EN361, (as a safety harness) EN813, (as a sit harness, maximum load 100kg) and EN1497, (as a rescue harness) it features a fully integrated high visibility overall for maximum safety and comfort.

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The Mammoth Anti-Suspension Trauma Overalls have been designed to allow you to put on both safety elements of fall arrest harness and reflective surfaces in one easy step - quickly and conveniently. These provide both protection from falls and ensure the wearer is clearly visible in adverse conditions.

The chest and leg straps are positioned using a 5-point system on the overall. This means that the weight is both carried by the straps and distributed across the overalls fabric. The harness straps are guided through the overalls via velcro tabs, which both protects them and prevents them disturbing the user whilst working. In the case of a fall the velcro is torn open and the straps absorb the energy. Since the straps are integrated they are prevented from twisting or tangling. The fabric on the back is elasticated to conform to the shape of the body, which allows for freedom of movement and fall energy absorption. This combination of harness and overall with energy absorbing elements is unique and a world first.

Rope falls can submit the body to high impact force which can be detrimental to health in many ways. Injuries include suspension trauma, circulatory shock, paralysis and lack of oxygen. Suspension trauma, ("orthostatic shock while suspended"), is also known as harness hang syndrome (HHS) and is caused by harness suspension.

The Clow Mammoth Anti-Trauma Safety Harness Overall is ergonomically designed to help prevent both short and long term health damage in the fall harness.

Suspension Trauma, also known as harness hang syndrome (HHS) or orthostatic intolerance, is caused by the body being held upright without any movement for a period of time, such as harness suspension.

The most common causes of suspension trauma are accidents where the person remains motionless and suspended in a harness for long periods of time. After only 15 minutes of suspension a person could die or be seriously injured. Motionless can cause several issues including fatigue, hypoglycemia, hypothermia and traumatic brain injury due to restriction of blood flow.

In normal circumstances the leg muscles are engaged allowing flow of blood but in orthostatic incompetence however, the legs hang immobile with the user in an upright posture. Gravity pulls blood into the lower legs, which have a very large storage capacity. Eventually enough blood is accumulated and the return blood flow to the heart is reduced. This blood flow is further reduced by the harness applying pressure to the upper leg veins. The heart can only pump the blood available, so the heart's output begins to fall. The heart therefore has to speed up to maintain sufficient blood flow to the brain, but if the blood supply to the heart is restricted enough then beating faster is ineffective and the body slows the heartbeat. In most non-harness instances the worker would faint and fall to the floor where the legs, heart and brain are on the same level and blood flow would return to the heart and the user recovers quickly. However, with a harness the user can't fall into a horizontal position so the reduction in heart rate causes the supply of blood to the brain to fall below a critical level. It is this loss of blood that kills the user.

These problems can be alleviated by the user pumping their legs to maintain blood flow, pushing down with their legs or by positioning their body in a horizontal or slight leg-high position, or by standing up, thereby engaging the leg muscles. However, these solutions only work if the user is conscious and not incapacitated in any way.

With this in mind the Mammoth Overalls are designed in such a way that the user is held in a sit position with their legs held slightly high that reduces the build up of blood in the lower legs. Furthermore the weight is distributed throughout the overalls so there is no pressure applied directly to the upper leg veins. Even if the user is unconscious, for example if they've fallen and banged their head or have injured themselves, the blood will still flow unrestricted to the heart thus preventing suspension trauma from kicking in.

Fall Protection Rescue Plan

By law according to the Work at Height Regulations 2005 all workers must have a rescue plan available for when a fall arrest situation occurs. One of the biggest issues with rescue from a hanging harness is the time available to rescue an incapacitated worker before they die from blood loss to the brain. The problem can be compounded by the surrounding environment, for example overhead electricity cables or a confined space making it difficult to get rescue equipment in place. All of these eventualities have to be catered for in a fall arrest rescue plan and can lead to expensive procedures needing to be put in place. However, with our Mammoth Anti-Trauma Overalls you can mitigate many of these risks as the time to rescue is no longer such a critical issue. In theory one could be left hanging indefinitely though if the worker is unconscious then it is paramount that they be rescued as soon as possible as they are likely to have suffered other injuries.

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The Clow Mammoth Anti-Trauma Safety Harness is Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) against falls from height and has been designed for use in combination with work safety rescue systems.

Certified to EN361, (as a safety harness) EN813, (as a sit harness, maximum load 100kg) and EN1497, (as a rescue harness) it features a fully integrated high visibility overall for maximum safety and comfort.